U.S. Department of Education Releases New Report on Adult Skills

Last month, the OECD released its Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) report that found the U.S. lagging behind in measures of adult skills. Today, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics released new data that sheds light on the depth and severity of the problem.

PIAAC is designed to assess adults in different countries over a broad range of abilities, from simple reading to complex problem-solving skills. To do this, PIAAC defines four core competency domains of adult cognitive skills that are seen as key to facilitating the social and economic participation of adults in advanced economies: literacy, reading components, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments. All participating countries and regions are required to assess the literacy and numeracy domains, but the reading components and problem solving in technology-rich environments domains are both optional. The United States assessed all four domains.

The report examines basic skills by demographic and other socioeconomic factors, including race, educational attainment, and age. This report will serve to help policymakers and practitioners design more effective policy solutions to improve the skills of America's adults and youth.

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